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"THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES" (2014) Review

When New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers first released the news that Peter Jackson would adapt J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 novel, "The Hobbit" into three films, I had not been pleased. I thought the novel could have easily been adapted into two films or even a single film. Now that Jackson's third film, "THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES", I realized that my feelings had not changed.

I still believe what I had originally stated . . . an adaptation of Tolkien's novel could have easily been limited to a single film. I believe I would have enjoyed...
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"WAR AND PEACE" (2016) Review

I have a confession to make. I have never seen a movie or television adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel, "War and Peace". Never. Well . . . I once made an attempt to watch the 1956 movie adaptation directed by King Vidor. Unfortunately, I could never go the distance. In fact, I have never read the novel.

However, many years passed. When I heard about the BBC's latest adaptation of Tolstoy's novel, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to give "WAR AND PEACE" a chance. The six-part miniseries is simply about the experiences of five Russian families during...
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"THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE" (2000) Review

I never saw "THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE" in the movie theaters when it was first released years ago. I have a low tolerance of sports movies and there are only a few that I consider favorites of mine. Another reason why I never saw this film in the theaters is that my family simply had no desire to see it.

Based upon Steven Pressfield's 1995 novel and directed by Robert Redford, "THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE" was a box office flop. Worse, it had received mixed to negative reviews. Among the criticisms directed at the film was the accusation that the Bagger...
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Below is my review of the 1979 television miniseries called ”THE SACKETTS”:


”THE SACKETTS” (1979) Review

Thirty years ago, CBS aired a two-part miniseries (or television movie) based upon two novels written by the late Louis L’Amour. Directed by Robert Totten, ”THE SACKETTS” starred Sam Elliot, Tom Selleck and Jeff Osterhage as the three Sackett brothers.

”THE SACKETTS” told the story of Tell (Elliot), Orrin (Selleck) and Tyrel (Osterhage) Sackett and their efforts to make new lives for themselves in the post-Civil War West. Screenwriter Jim Byrnes took two novels about the...
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posted by KeepItSecret
Calling all Jane Austen fans!!
link is a newly opened RPG site, dedicated to all Jane Austen characters and books. You have the opportunity to be a Jane Austen character, or even create your own regency character!
With very few members, the majority of Austen's own characters are up for grabs!!
The only canon characters taken at the moment are Mr and Mrs Bennet, so plenty of places available.
Come and have a look around, and join if you so wish (please read the rules before hand though!)
Thanks alot guys!
link
"THE FOUR FEATHERS" (1977) Review

I have heard of the 1977 adaptation of A.E.W. Mason' 1902 adventure film. But I never thought I would see it. Recently, it occurred to me to rent the movie from Netflix, because I have yet to run across it at any store that sells DVDs. I did rent "THE FOUR FEATHERS". Needless to say, it produced some rather interesting feelings within me.

Anyone familiar with Mason's tale knows that "THE FOUR FEATHERS" is the story about a 19th century British Army officer named Harry Faversham, who harbor plans to resign from his commission in the Royal North Surrey Regiment...
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"THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO" (1934) Review

I have seen only two versions of Alexandre Dumas père's 1845 novel, "The Count of Monte Cristo" in my past - the 1975 television version with Richard Chamberlain and the 2002 Disney film with James Cavielzel. While reading a good number of articles about the movie versions of the novel, I came across numerous praises for the 1934 adaptation that starred Robert Donat. And since I happened to like Dumas' story so much, I decided to see how much I would like this older version.

Set between the last months of the Napoleonic Wars and the 1830s, "THE COUNT...
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"RACE TO FREEDOM: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD" (1994) Review

Many television viewers and moviegoers might be surprised to learn that Hollywood had aired a good number of television movies that featured the topic of U.S. slavery. One of those movies proved to be an offshoot of the 1977 miniseries, "ROOTS". However, another was the 1994 television movie called "RACE TO FREEDOM: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD".

The 1994 television movie is a story about the Underground Railroad, a loose network of secret routes and safe houses occasionally used by willing 19th-century slaves in the United States to escape...
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posted by DR76
"TITANIC" (1953) Review

As many moviegoers know, there have been numerous film and television productions about the maiden voyage and sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic on April 15, 1912. The most famous production happens to be James Cameron's 1997 Oscar winning opus. However, I do wonder if there are any fans who are aware that another Titanic movie managed to strike Oscar gold.

Directed by Jean Negulesco, the 1953 movie "TITANIC" focused on the personal lives of a wealthy American family torn asunder by marital strife, a deep secret and the historic sinking of the Titanic. Family matriarch Mrs....
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posted by DR76
"CAPOTE" (2005) Review

I finally got around to watching the first of two movies about writer Truman Capote and his work on the non-fiction novel, "In Cold Blood". This particular movie, "CAPOTE", starred American actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who eventually won a SAG award, a Golden Globe award and an Oscar for his performance.

Penned by actor Dan Futterman and directed by Bennett Miller, "CAPOTE" turned out to be a more somber affair than Douglas McGrath's 2006 film, "INFAMOUS". Miller had once commented that he wanted to create a more subtle portrait of the flamboyant author in order to emphasize...
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"HE KNEW HE WAS RIGHT" (2004) Review

My knowledge of 19th century author, Anthony Trollope, can be described as rather skimpy. In fact, I have never read any of his works. But the 2004 BBC adaptation of his 1869 novel, "He Knew He Was Right", caught my interest and I decided to watch the four-part miniseries.

"HE KNEW HE WAS RIGHT" told the decline and fall of a wealthy gentleman named Louis Trevelyan (Oliver Dimsdale) and his marriage to the elder daughter of a British Colonial administrator named Sir Marmaduke Rowley (Geoffrey Palmer) during the late 1860s. Louis first met the spirited Emily...
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"12 YEARS A SLAVE" (2013) Review

I first learned about Solomon Northup many years ago, when I came across a television adaptation of his story in my local video story. One glance at the video case for "HALF-SLAVE, HALF-FREE: SOLOMON NORTHUP'S ODYSSEY" made me assume that this movie was basically a fictional tale. But when I read the movie's description on the back of the case, I discovered that I had stumbled across an adaption about a historical figure.

Intrigued by the idea of a free black man in antebellum America being kidnapped into slavery, I rented "HALF-SLAVE, HALF-FREE: SOLOMON NORTHUP'S...
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"THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG" (2013) Review

The second part of Peter Jackson's film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 fantasy novel, "The Hobbit" recently hit the theaters. After watching it, I am amazed that I was ever against the idea of a three-film adaptation of the Tolkien's story.

Titled "THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG", the second film began not long after the first one left off. I take that back. The movie began with a flashback featuring a meet between the wizard Gandalf the Gray and the Dwarf prince, Thorin Oakenshield at the Prancing Pony Tavern in Bree. Those familiar...
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"THE MANIONS OF AMERICA" (1981) Review

Back in early 1981, ABC Television aired a miniseries about the lives of an Anglo-Irish immigrant family called "THE MANIONS OF AMERICA". Starring Pierce Brosnan and Kate Mulgrew, the miniseries aired in three parts and was marketed as the Irish-American version of the 1977 miniseries, "ROOTS".

"The Irish-American version of "ROOTS"? Hmmmm . . . I do not know if that similarity genuinely works. Yes, both miniseries focused upon the beginning of a family line in the United States. Both are family sagas set before the 20th century. But the differences between...
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"HOMEFRONT" RETROSPECT: (1.01) "S.N.A.F.U."

There are only a handful of television shows that I am very emotional about. There are only a handful that I consider to be among the best I have ever seen on the small screen. One of them happened to be the 1991-1993 ABC series, "HOMEFRONT". Not only do I view it as one of the few television series that turned out to be consistently first-rate from beginning to end, it also has one of the best pilot episodes I have ever seen.

"HOMEFRONT" followed the lives and experiences of a handful of citizens in the fictional town in Ohio, right after the end...
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"THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY" (2012) Review

I had nothing against the news of New Line Cinema's attempt to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 novel, "The Hobbit" for the screen. But I had no idea that the studio, along with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Brothers would end up stringing out the adaptation into three movies. Three. That seemed a lot for a 300-page novel. The first chapter in this three-page adaptation turned out to be the recent release, "THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY".

Peter Jackson, who had directed the adaptation of Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy over a decade ago,...
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"INFAMOUS" (2006) Review

I have heard a lot about the two movie biographies based upon Truman Capote’s experiences, while working on his famous 1966 non-fiction novel, "In Cold Blood" – 2005's "CAPOTE" and "INFAMOUS", which hit movie theaters in the following year. But this review is about the second film . . . namely "INFAMOUS". Written and directed by Douglas McGrath, the movie starred Toby Jones as Truman Capote.

To be honest, I did not know what to expect of "INFAMOUS". Since it was the second Capote movie to be released, it failed to garner any prestigious critic awards or nominations...
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"ESCAPE FROM FORT BRAVO" (1953) Review

Years ago, I used to watch a great deal of old movies on late night television. My two favorite channels that offered these movies were Turner Network Television (TNT) and the American Movies Classic (AMC), which used to air movies without any commercial breaks. On TNT, I had stumbled across a Western movie originally released by MGM Studios in 1953 called "ESCAPE FROM FORT BRAVO" (1953) and fell in love with it. After watching my recently purchased DVD copy of the movie, I could see why it became a favorite of mine.

Directed by John Sturges during the...
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"THE YOUNG VICTORIA" (2009) Review

About a year or so before his popular television series, "DOWNTON ABBEY" hit the airwaves, Julian Fellowes served as screenwriter to the lavish biopic about the early life and reign of Britain's Queen Victoria called "THE YOUNG VICTORIA". The 2009 movie starred Emily Blunt in the title role and Rupert Friend as the Prince Consort, Prince Albert.

"THE YOUNG VICTORIA" began during the last years in the reign of King William IV, Victoria's uncle. Acknowledge as the next ruler of Britain, Victoria became the target of a political tug-of-war between her mother,...
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”THE WINDS OF WAR” (1983) Review

Some forty-five years ago, author Herman Wouk wrote ”The Winds of War”, a bestselling novel about the experiences of a middle-aged U.S. Navy officer and his family during the early years of World War II. A decade later, ABC Television and producer David Wolper brought his story to the television screen with a seven-part, fourteen-and-a-half hour miniseries that became a ratings hit and a major Emmy and Golden Globe nominee.

Produced by Dan Curtis and Barbara Steele, and directed by Curtis; ”THE WINDS OF WAR” was a sprawling saga that told the story...
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